Baseball: Cubs, Sox, Cardinals and Brewers all off to shaky starts

At the beginning of this Major League Baseball season, I wrote a column about how I planned on following both the Cubs and the White Sox this season. I received several comments about that column. The majority were in support of my decision, while still a couple of others thought it was only possible to be a “true” supporter of only one of Chicago’s professional baseball teams.

The response I found most interesting reminded me that this area is not composed solely of Cubs and Sox fans. The reader correctly pointed out there are a large number of St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers fans living here in northern Illinois.

He suggested I didn’t have to root for those teams, but I should at least include them in my coverage of baseball. I think that was a point well made.

So, after the first couple of weeks of the 2011 season, I’ve noticed there isn’t a ton of difference between these four teams in the standings. As of press time, they were all hovering right around the .500 mark.

In the American League Central, the White Sox just lost their fourth straight game to fall to 7-8. The other three teams all play in the National League Central. The Cardinals trail the division-leading Cincinnati Reds (9-6) with an 8-8 record. The Brew Crew are directly below them with a 7-7 record. The Cubs are fourth in the division with a 7-8 record.

Granted, it’s extremely early in the season, but so far none of these teams has really done anything to distinguish themselves as something special in the world of baseball. It’s safe to say the jury is still out on all of them.

I will continue to try to catch as many Cubs and White Sox games as I can, and now I’ll also make a concerted effort to keep up with what’s happening with the Brewers and the Cardinals as well. I hope one of them will make it worth the effort.